May 10th, 2015 by Ron Branch

When I brought this home I backed the truck up by the kitchen window, dropped the tail gait and positioned it for maximum visual effect. “Look what I brought home” I said when I came in. The response in the house was a brief but satisfying amount of pandemonium.

The sculpture itself is not all that detailed, quite crude really if you look at it closely, but it doesn’t matter… there is something about that shape that guarantees a startle you when you see it.

My job is to sandblast the rust off of it. It’s something not all glass artists are willing to do. There is the concern of contaminating your booth with the rust and metal particles – but I never notice it as being a problem. My problem is knowing how to price the job, so I’m going to use this alligator sculpture as a pricing gauge by keeping careful track of the time it takes, and documenting it with photos as I go along (so I won’t forget – since these rust removal jobs have been few and far between).

When the blasting is done I will need to clear coat it with something. I know that the regular lacquer I use is not going to be good enough to protect it outdoors. Anybody have any suggestions?